The Middle East Downstairs is a great place to see a show. It should be on your list of places to check out before you die. Very small, capacity of about 500, you really get to spend time with a band and those around you. As Todd Lewis took the microphone, he remarked, “It’s good to see you all, thanks for coming out,” quickly strummed his guitar to the tune of ‘Plane Crash’ and at 11:30 the Toadies had hit Cambridge.
The show thundered along, mixing tunes from both of the band’s albums: Rubberneck and Hell Below/Stars Above. They played fan favorites like ‘Mr. Love’, ‘I Come From the Water’, ‘Little Sin’, ‘Tyler’, ‘Push the Hand’, ‘Dollskin’ and their seminal hit ‘Possum Kingdom’. Lewis also mentioned a new album to be released in August, No Deliverance, and played a few tracks to entice the crowd.
Mark Reznicek was behind the drum kit pounding out a prescription of rock for the night. While Clark Vogeler made the guitar work look so easy, new bassist Doni Blair was keeping a solid rhythm. Age seems to have been good to the Toadies and only made their sound fresh over time. In an era of recycled hard rock beats, it is nice to hear that some people haven’t changed.
Armed with a disposable camera, conveniently hidden, I snapped pictures during the show to add to my collection of candid gig pictures. When the show was over I reached over the guard rail and grabbed the set list from the monitor speaker. You snooze, you lose. I try not to go home empty handed.
Opener Verbana Darvelle, a three-piece from Rhode Island, managed to keep folks mildly entertained, while Austin’s Lions knew how to charge the crowd before the Toadies took over.
